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C-suites and boards still lack diversity

Corporate
diversity has grown in recent years, but women and minorities still lack substantial presence in executive suites and board rooms, according to a recent
report by Calvert Investments.

While women are hired
as frequently as men at some of the country’s largest public companies, neither
women nor minorities hold any of the highest-paid senior executive positions in
more 56 percent of the companies profiled in "Examining the Cracks
in the Ceiling: A Survey of Corporate Diversity Practices of the S&P 100.” Women represent only 8 percent of the S&P 100's highest-paid executives.

The lack of diversity carries over to the boardrooms, with 19 percent of board
of director positions held by women. Furthermore, while 98 company boards have women
directors and 86 company boards have minority directors, only 37 companies have
minority women directors.

Despite the
sobering statistics, some progress has been made in diversity best practices
implementation. From 2010 to 2012, six out of nine S&P 100 Index sectors
show an increase of 2.1 percent in industry average diversity ratings. The overall
percentage of women serving on S&P 100 boards rose from 18 percent to 19
percent during that time, with 30 companies adding at least one woman director
and 25 companies adding at least one minority director. Overall
recruitment of minority and women employees has also increased, with outreach
efforts among S&P 100 companies rising from 74 percent to 90 percent in
2012.

"S&P 100
companies deserve modest credit for taking positive steps in the last two years
on diversity,” said Barbara J. Krumsiek, chair, president and CEO of Calvert
Investments Inc., "but it is important to recognize that much hard work remains
to be done. Absent a real push to put more women on boards and into executive
suites, the progress on diversity will end up falling far short of what needs
to be done to achieve meaningful and lasting changes in corporate America.

"The bottom line
here is very simple: Not only is this the right thing to do in terms of women
and minorities, but it can also mean better returns for investors.”

Fifty-four
percent of the companies studied disclose EEO-1 data, such as percentage of
women and minority hires, which provides consumers and investors a way to
determine effectiveness of diversity practices and initiatives. Thirty-nine
companies in the S&P 100 do not disclose the data.